Getting up and out is difficult when you don't really want to leave. Still, we have more places to visit and more relatives to see so we have to get going. Before we get on the motorcycle, my granddaughter wanted to show us how she can "tap" dance. Of course we encourage her in her attempts at becoming the next Ginger Rogers (photos 1 & 2).

We jump up on I-470 west, and find quite a bit of traffic for the first sixty miles or so, and then it slowly thinned out to something manageable. The grassy foothills of Highlands Ranch give way to the forested mountains of the Rockies (photo 3). As we climb, the temperature drops to a low 52 degrees as we leave the Eisenhower Tunnel at 11066 feet (photo 4). This is not the highest road in Colorado, but it's plenty high enough. The temperatures would climb to 92 degree before the end of the day.

We have ridden in Colorado before and it's always a treat. Even though this is an interstate, it's one of the most scenic interstates in the country (photos 5 & 6). If we had time, we would be riding some of Colorado's back roads not the interstate, but we don't have time this trip. Still, this was a nice ride and we wanted to enjoy it.

As it got later, we needed to stop for lunch and picked the small mountain community of Eagle. What we discovered was a "new" diner called, appropriately enough The Eagle Diner, which was a step back in time, both in appearance and menu choices (photos 7 & 8). The food was reasonable and tasty and if you're ever in Eagle, Colorado, stop by the diner.

As we left the diner, the clouds were growing darker and more threatening. Still, we were heading west and the clouds were heading east, so I felt like we had a good chance of missing any afternoon rainstorms.

As we approached Glenwood Canyon, we passed through one of the most beautiful canyons riding on one of the most spectacular freeways we've seen on our entire trip. The freeway is built one layer over another, running right alongside the river. Down below, bikers ride on a scenic bike path and kayakers float alongside the river (photos 9 & 10).

As we approached western Colorado, the surrounding countryside changed from forest green, to brown, to reddish brown, with dry, rocky cliffs replacing and dominating the landscapes. We stopped at the Colorado River State Park for a cool drink and a couple of photos (photos 11 & 12).

As we continued down I-70 for the remainder of the day, we finally get off the freeway in Grand Junction and look forward to a short day tomorrow when we will visit our niece in Moab.

Today's Route: SR 470 West to I-70 West all the way to Grand Junction, CO